New Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Program in 2025? (SVG)
Published at: 27/11/2024 08:47 am
The NDP opposition party of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines promised to launch a citizenship-by-investment program if it won the elections. The current government does not support this idea.
During the last decade, several politicians from Saint Vincent and Grenadines (SVG) have proposed starting a new Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP). However, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has always opposed launching the sixth passport program of the 20 CARICOM countries. The election was on November 25th.
The region is the home of the most traditional investors' immigration schemes. There are five Caribbean countries with CIP-based naturalisation schemes:
- Saint Kitts and Navis
- Dominica
- Grenada
- Saint Lucia
- Antigua and Barbuda
The current government's concerns are based on the possibility of the country's visa-free travel to the UK and the EU being withdrawn because of possible transparency problems. However, neighbouring countries have already resolved this issue. Under pressure from the European Union and the United States, Caribbean countries with passport programmes have concluded a framework agreement. This guarantees internationally accepted screening of applicants and avoids harmful price competition.
The most important question is whether citizenship by investment programs can be sustainable and avoid dependence on income from the passport programme. This may indeed be legitimate because St Kitts-Nevis Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew said that 60-70% of the state's revenue depends on income from the citizenship program.
Advantages of the citizenship of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
The government offers incentives to attract foreign investment, including tax exemptions and reductions for investors in tourism and other sectors.
SVG's growing tourism sector creates investment opportunities in hotels, resorts, restaurants, and tour services.
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